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Simulation & Gaming:
An Interdisciplinary Journal of Theory, Practice and Research
http://sag.sagepub.com Gaming networks
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Call for Papers
symposium issue of
Theme:
Guest Editor Following the Symposium issues “State of the Art and Science of Simulation/Gaming”, Volume 32, Number 4, December 2001, “Simulation and Gaming: The art & science of design”, Volume 34, Number 4, December 2003, and “Artifact assessment versus theory testing”, Volume 37, Number 2, June 2006, I am preparing a special issue of the Journal Simulation & Gaming on “Emergent characteristics of global gaming networks.” Current gaming associations such as, ISAGA, NASAGA, SAGSET, ABSEL, JASAG, SAGSAGA, DiGRA, SAGANET, IGDA, and SSAGSG provide a home base for scholars and practitioners from a great variety of disciplines, having distinct perspectives of and interests in gaming. Moreover, game design is a science, an art, and a craft, tapping off distinct abilities and motivations. Those involved speak different languages, and as a consequence the terminology used provokes ambiguity, confusion and often misunderstanding among “the communities of gamers”. Thus, covering more than forty years of research and practice, it is worthwhile to review the field from those various perspectives, to wrap up achievements and lessons learned, and to offer a vision of the near future. On the one hand the study of games relates to their design qualities, on the other hand to their context of use and their social and cultural impact. The aim of this special issue is to reflect on and review the gaming landscape from the perspective of the associations mentioned above, and to address emerging characteristics. Can we speak of a common inheritance, a common future, and common achievements? Which goals are being pursued? What are/were the main issues to be addressed? Which challenges and puzzles need further attention to advance the field? Authors should survey the field of gaming and simulation, review current qualities of the gaming networks, covering the whole spectrum from face-to-face role-play to digital games for entertainment. They are invited to pay attention to (terminological) questions to enhance communication among fellow gamers. That presumes that the authors will exceed the level of purely instrumental reasoning, prevalent in the supporting disciplines, and offer a coherent and recognizable frame-of-reference. My intention is to engage in a constructive dialogue with the authors so that the final product will reflect the highest standards for work in the gaming and simulation tradition. Please send a one- to two-page outline containing the following items: • A working title. • Your name(s), address, phone, e-mail, etc. • An abstract, with a set of objectives and an outline for the proposed paper. • A working plan and time schedule. • Possibly one or two off-prints of previous articles that might be relevant. The outline should not exceed 750 words, including the paper’s title, full name(s) of author(s), and should be emailed to Jan Klabbers by January 1, 2008 at preferably as a Microsoft Word document email attachment. Send your outline to: Jan H.G. Klabbers. E-mail: jklabbers AT kmpc DOT nl |